Reversed Side
by SSoulon
Summary: Switching roles, it feels like I’m playing with destinies—like a God—but I dare say, no God would stumble so low as to fall for the subject of his plaything right? And I mean, in sexual way. SuzaLulu
1. Chapter 1

Little Lelouch flinched slightly at the terrible noise that reached his ears, but he tried to toughen his heart. The sky was red blazing on the direction of the city, where those horrific noises came from. Gunfire. Screams. Metals. Every time he heard shrill screams, Lelouch shut his eyes in fear.

The sunflower road he was walking on now became a barren wasteland; life had been robbed off of the previously beautiful blooming flowers, only ashes remained. Lelouch frowned sadly at the sight, then looked away. He walked slowly, weighted by the flaccid body of a brown-haired boy he carried on his back. He seemed unconscious; eyes shut tightly and complexion sickly white. His head rolled on Lelouch's small back while his arms flailed limply by his chest.

Gasping tiredly, Lelouch gently readjusted when he felt the boy slipping down. "Suzaku…" He glanced worriedly at the sickly-looking boy, feeling his skin growing colder than before.

Little Lelouch felt his chest being clenched. "Suzaku, I'll get help soon… hold on, okay?" There was no response. Lelouch smiled bitterly at him.

Lelouch resumed walking in staggers, dragging his injured knee from falling down earlier. A tiny trail of blood went down his knee and dripped to the ground in small drops, sands had gotten in the wound that it felt hurt. But Suzaku's injury was worse than his, so he ignored his knee and continued.

How long had he walked? How much longer would it take for them to reach the evacuation site? Although it was still day, the sky was dark and felt like an endless night. Lelouch was exhausted and scared, although he put on a strong front. There were only the two of them but Suzaku was injured, Lelouch was only a spoiled kid without the slightest medical knowledge. He didn't know what to do but looking for help at the evacuation site.

Being a Britannian and a prince did nothing good.

"Suzaku…" Lelouch gasped, his breaths were ragged. He dragged his limp legs to walk, but find little energy to do so. But he stubbornly forced himself to take another step. "Don't die… Suzaku…" He felt his eyes were on fire and the road in front of him became slightly blurry.

He didn't notice a small hole on the ground in front of his feet and soon stumbled over it.

Lelouch fell with a dull thump.

"Ugh…uhhh…" Lelouch winced, feeling a sharp pain to his wounded knee. He vaguely noticed his back felt light, he tilted his dirt-caked face and found Suzaku's body was lying on the side of the road, he was groaning. It looked like he fell too hard and hurt himself. He kept wriggling about and groaning softly.

"Su…zaku…" Lelouch tried to stand, but his legs felt powerless. He was too exhausted. He suddenly felt very sleepy, but the pain in his knee and Suzaku's growls kept him awake. His vision began to blur.

Vaguely, he saw a tiny red pool was forming slowly around Suzaku. Blood dripped from a gaping wound on his side, tainting his shirt crimson. The sight was blurry and hard to see, but Lelouch could still tell what happened. He wanted to go and help his friend, but his limp body wouldn't do as he wished.

Red.

The sky, the ground, his beloved mother and sister, and now even Suzaku…

They were all covered in red.

Amethyst eyes blinked weakly. "Su…za…ku…"

A rustling noise suddenly reached Lelouch's ears.

"….I think I heard something…there…."

_Who…?_ Lelouch's hazy mind questioned. He heard the voices of some people he didn't recognize. In the back of his mind, Lelouch knew he had to take Suzaku with him and hide, if they were the enemy, Suzaku would be…

"…!! They're children…."

The voices sounded distant in his ears. Were they Japanese? or Britannian? Their accent sounded like—

"…! ......!"

Lelouch felt his body was being lifted by a pair of strong arms. In his delirious state of mind, he couldn't see who that person clearly, his face… or his clothes. Their words weren't distinct and sounded far. But Lelouch was sure of one thing.

"…ame….? You…."

If they found out Suzaku was a Japanese—

"….hey! …your name…"

Suzaku's blurry vision found a pair of blue eyes. "…m…my… na…me…?" He could only hear bits of the words.

"Yeah! Your name, kid, what's your name?"

Lelouch didn't reply. One of his lavender retinas glanced at the other boy, a person crouched by his side. It looked like he was checking him. Suzaku's eyelids were shut tightly as before, his face contorted in what seemed like he was in an intense pain. His face flushed red.

Crimson blood… pooled around him.

"I'm…" Lelouch mumbled weakly.

"What?" That person asked.

Weak amethyst eyes met with lively aquamarine. "My… name is…"

**One**

Seven years had passed since the invasion of the Holy Empire of Britannia. The country of Japan no longer existed in current world, now known by the name given by the hated kingdom of Britannia like a symbol of ownership—Area 11. Even though Britannia had claimed as such, not all the citizens of Japan could accept such dictatorship and still struggled to rebel against its government in order to restore their liberty.

And today as well, as he passed by the slum area Lelouch heard a ruckus from a Japanese orator doing a speech about discrimination between elite Britannian citizens and the low-class Japanese, in another word, trying to get people to their side. It wasn't an odd sight, considering there were many people doing the same thing in secret.

"_We are Japanese! We refuse to be called elevens! People, we as Japanese people need to uphold our nation's rights to exist—"_

And Lelouch simply walked away.

Although he rarely used this route, the same thing always happened each time he happened to pass by. There was a stretched net fence that divided the elite Britannian settlement with the slum area where the elevens—the Japanese inhabited, it was an area similar to a ruined city, unreconstructed and abandoned by the Britannian government.

And there where Lelouch would be, had he been unfortunate enough.

"Lulu!"

The said boy turned to the source of the voice, and found his schoolmate since middle school, Rivalz, was riding on his motorcycle, halting at the side of the road. He waved vigorously at Lelouch. Replying his wave, Lelouch approached him.

"Whatcha doing here?" Rivalz asked, gazing anxiously at the slum beyond the fence.

"Just doing some shopping." Lelouch replied, showing Rivalz a package he was carrying.

"But you shouldn't be using this route, ya know… The elevens are scary in this part of the town." Rivalz whispered. Hearing no answer from the other party, Rivalz suddenly realized and corrected his statement. "…oh. S-sorry, Lelouch. I-I said too much. I forgot you're..." he didn't continue his statement.

Lelouch smiled quietly. "It's alright… besides, I only use this route because it's a shortcut. I'm not offended or anything."

Rivalz was tear-eyed, staring at Lelouch with an apologetic expression. "I'm really sorry Lelouch! I promise I won't say that anymore!" He sincerely stated.

"It's alright, really…."

"No, it's not! What kind of insensitive friend I am, saying that just because of a slip of tongue!" Rivalz replied sharply. "Hop on, Lulu! I'll take us back to the dorm! I'll do it as an apology!"

Seeing no reason to object, Lelouch put on a helm Rivals offered to him and settled himself comfortably in the side car of his motorcycle. Rivalz winked at him and started the engine. Soon, the surrounding views were running behind them as they rode on the highway. On the road, Lelouch looked up from his book.

"Aren't this just the usual thing? How can this be an apology?"

"Err… Well… um, it's special 'coz I just bought new helms! Hahaha…" Rivalz laughed sheepishly.

Lelouch shook his head and chuckled lightly. He decided to close his book and put it in the package. He gazed at the ruined slum area stretched long to the horizon; it was dark and reeked of trash, the very opposite view of the clean and beautiful Britannian settlement.

"Rivalz… if you don't like elevens, why do you still hang out with me?" Lelouch suddenly asked.

Rivalz looked pretty surprised at the question, but he quickly focused his concentration to the roads. "Well, uh…" He sounded thoughtful.

Lelouch chuckled amusedly. "Sorry, it's just an idle question. You don't have to think about it too much."

Rivalz didn't seem to hear him though. "Well, that's because… Lulu is different, I guess?" He tilted his head.

"How so?" The dark-haired boy raised a fine eyebrow.

"The first time I saw Lulu… I thought Lulu was a Britannian. Since you didn't look like the others at all." Rivalz muttered. "To be honest though, when I heard your name, I knew and I thought I shouldn't be too close to you… I thought I treated you pretty meanly back then…" He looked slightly fidgety.

"Yeah, you used to ignore me."

Rivalz blushed lightly. "B-but! It doesn't matter now 'coz I realized Lulu was different! Lulu's not scary, you're smart, and nice to me, and…" Rivalz stole a quick glance at Lelouch. Lelouch was looking straight at the roads, looking absent-minded. He gulped.

"…so beautiful."

But Lelouch couldn't hear the last part because a strong wind just blew near his ears. "…huh? What did you say?"

"N-nothing!!" Rivalz stuttered, face reddened. "A-anyway, since the president and the others don't mind, so… I'm being your friend not because of your nationality or social status…" He fought the blush on his cheeks by fully concentrating on riding his motorcycle.

Lelouch looked a bit taken by Rivalz's statement. "…Actually I was just joking when I asked that, but you took it so seriously… it's kind of funny." He saw Rivalz blushed again and laughed. "But then again…" He added.

"Thank you… Rivalz." He smiled earnestly.

Rivalz's face looked so much like a boiled crab then; it must be because of his idle joke, thought Lelouch.

He gazed absently at the views beyond the highway, he spotted the sight of the Ashford Academy, though still quite far. Feeling a bit bored, he opened his book again. He flipped and skipped through the pages, he couldn't' remember how many times he had finished the book. He had pretty much memorized the contents. Suddenly his fingers stopped at a certain page. On that page, an illustration of a sunflower field was drawn.

Lelouch's thought was suddenly sucked into a memory from long ago. The singing cicadas. The bright azure sky and soft cotton-like white clouds in a hot summer day. The beautiful contrast of light blue and bright yellow. He even remembered the sweet scent. In those heavenly days, when his sister was still alive and _him_—

Lelouch slammed the book close.

…_what use remembering something like that now?_

Those days were over. The day when hell fell down on this country, the heaven vanished. The past he wished he could burry within his memory forever, and yet to this day he still remembered the smell of burning trees, the noise of guns, and the scent of blood as if it just happened yesterday.

He shook his head.

Now… the only thing Lelouch could do was to live on peacefully. He had nothing and there was nothing he wished for, and thus he still had to live his ordinary days, pretending to know nothing, for the rest of his life, for the sake of himself and those who had helped him. Until then… he couldn't complain.

Yes. His purpose was only to live on these ordinary, perpetual days.

"By the way, Lulu. The president said she wants to talk to you as soon as you got back." Rivalz's voice suddenly woke him out of his thoughts.

Lelouch noticed the academy was already nearby; he tried to shake off his previous thoughts. "Is there something important?"

"Hmmm… No idea. She's prolly gonna invite you to join the high school division's student council or something, right? Since we're high-schoolers starting tomorrow."

Lelouch nodded. "I see."

A few minutes later, they should've arrived in front of the gate and entered the academy grounds if only there weren't so much ruckuses standing on their way. Both Rivalz and Lelouch were startled at a throng of people gathering by the gates. They appeared to be a combination of reporters, cameramen, and passersby, even students from another school gathered there. They were all squeezing against each other, trying to pry into the steel gates.

"What's going on?" Lelouch shaded his eyes from the many flashes of camera.

"My oh my… I heard rumors there's gonna be some big-shot in our school today, which explains _these_." Rivalz said in half-shock, half-amazement.

"How do we get in with those people blocking the way?"

"Ssh." Rivalz whispered. "There's a secret backdoor nearby the dorm. We'll have to go around and go through it quietly so they won't stalk us."

"Good thing we're not wearing our uniforms." Lelouch stated, gazing at the crowd. He wondered who came to visit that he attracted so much attention, but shrug it off quickly.

They went around the big academy until Rivalz stopped by a pair of rusty gates. After making sure no one saw them, he fished out a silver key from his pocket and started unlocking the seemingly newer lock.

"How'd you get that?" Lelouch asked.

"The president gave me one. It's good to have connections, don'tcha think?" Rivalz grinned as he undid the chains.

"Isn't it illegal?" A fine dark brow was raised.

"Nope. Since it's not used anymore and all rusty, it's technically legal. Like a secret entrance or something?"

"…you stole it didn't you."

"And it's a secret between us, okay? You're an accomplice now!" Rivalz laughed aloud, satisfied.

After they went in, Rivalz quickly put on the chains and locked it again like before, while Lelouch dragged his motorcycle to the dormitory parking area. He gazed at the quiet atmosphere of the dormitory building, thinking there wouldn't be many people until nighttime. They all went home for Winter break except Lelouch and a few others, like Rivalz and Milly.

Since Rivalz said his family had left him alone for Europe to visit some relatives and Milly had works to do at the academy, being the president of student council. Rivalz and Lelouch had been helping her to pass the time. Shirley, who lived nearby, visited them often and helped around too. It was good that Lelouch didn't have to spend the break all by himself in the academy dorms.

Rivalz came a short while later.

"The president called me earlier; she said we should go meet her at the student council room." He informed.

"Hm," Lelouch glanced at the dormitory building. "Sorry Rivalz, I have to put my things first. I'll catch up with you as soon as I did."

"Oh, okay." Rivalz nodded.

He waved at him, and vanished within the dormitory entrance. Suddenly, a look of realization hit Rivalz.

"…oh, yeah! I forgot to tell him what the president said…"

Lelouch entered the building, soon his legs climbed the stairs in the common room. His room was on the third floor, there were two beds, but he lived alone since he didn't have a roommate. It was convenient; he could hog the whole room all by himself. No one would complain if he left the lights on(like how Rivalz used to complain about his roommate).

He took the stairway again after the first, immediately took the sight of his bedroom door as it was right in front of the stairs, the furthest room on the first corridor. His free hand reached for his jeans' back pocket and managed to fish out a serial of keys. He flipped it and settled on a silver key with a black handle. Then Lelouch thrust it into the keyhole, but found something odd.

…_? It's unlocked?_

And his thought was right when the door was easily flung open after he turned the doorknob. As he entered with questions popping in his mind, he lifted his gaze up and his eyes widened when his amethyst eyes met a pair of bright emeralds. At that moment he felt his heart suddenly stopped beating for a second.

There was someone in his room.

He had a pair of bright green eyes that resembled the color of a leaf, wet by clear morning dew. Tanned skin and slightly ruffled, deep copper tresses. He had grown taller than Lelouch now and his body was more built, but Lelouch could never forget the light of those pristine chartreuse eyes. His nose. His hair. His…

"Um… do you live here?"

Lelouch flinched lightly at the question. As if he was pulled back into reality, a voice he didn't recognize and yet still had the same accent and tone—although the voice had become deeper. Different than seven years ago, the body became taller, and the face's structure had hardened and matured, like nothing he had last seen. Different. And yet so similar.

Lelouch tried to calm his loudly beating heart, and told his head to remain cool and composed. Even if the one in front of him was really him, he wouldn't… remember.

A sharp pain struck within his chest, but Lelouch chose to ignore it. He focused his mind and body to act normally.

_Why is he here…?_

"Yes. I'm… living here." He said with a steady voice.

The green-eyed boy looked relived, he smiled sweetly. "Oh. That's great. Nice too meet you! I just transferred here and I'll be your roommate from now on."

"Roommate?" Lelouch remembered the crowd by the gate just earlier, and what Milly wanted to talk to him about… must be this. He had thought possibilities, but this one… was unexpected.

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale…" The other said, stepping closer towards Lelouch with a concerned look on his face.

Lelouch instinctively backed away and refused to look straight to his eyes. "…I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"…oh. Umm…" He looked awkward by Lelouch's rejection. But he quickly turned it to a friendly face. "Well, I hope we'll be good friends. What's your name?" He brightly said as he thrust his right hand towards Lelouch.

Lelouch replied with a forced smile and accepted his hand. "I'm… Lelouch. Kururugi Lelouch."

"My name is… well, I guess you knew it already… I'm Suzaku. Suzaku Britannia VI. Nice to meet you, Lelouch. I hope you'll treat me as your friend." He smiled a bright smile.

Lelouch smiled back.

It was like another hell had descended.

* * *

**A/N:** Good? Bad? Pleasee tell me what you think! I know there're prolly many grammatical errors... I'm embarrassed. 3///3


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I was told that Lelouch's name is pronounced 'Rurushu' in Japanese and it's more suitable to change his name to 'Kururugi Rurushu'. I've thought of this and decided that this is a great suggestion (I actually like it very much too), but because this might confuse some readers, I decide not to change Lelouch's name. But you can put it in mind whenever you read Lelouch's name in this fic. I'm thankful for this suggestion! I'm happy you liked this story, **Tsukiko Tokoyami**-san! xD

* * *

Lelouch swept the blue-colored binds aside and a gentle ray of morning sun tenderly brushed against his pale skin. He almost instinctively closed his eyes slightly at the intruding light, shadowing his vision with a hand. As soon as he slid open the casement, he saw the birds were singing on the branches of a chestnut tree that stood right in front his room's window.

He breathed in the fresh morning air and sighed. The drowsiness still shown in his half-lidded eyes, a yawn escaped his mouth. The view of the empty school grounds in an early morning felt refreshing and peaceful.

Lelouch glanced at the alarm clock on a bedside table on his left, the short needle stopped at seven and the long needle at number 11, five minutes before the alarm went off. But Lelouch only slept for two hours last night.

He pushed the off button.

He lifted his gaze and incidentally caught the sight of a sleeping boy across the room. He stirred under the blanket. His hazel-tinted head turned and faced Lelouch, his eyes were still closed as he sighed softly.

Lelouch tore his gaze away and stared up towards the green leaves of the chestnut tree, slanting his eyes as little rays of light that escaped the gaps blinded his vision.

**Two**

"Lulu, are you listening?"

Rivalz snapped his fingers in front of the seemingly unfocused Lelouch, who was staring absently at an empty wall, his hands rested on a bunch of papers. He looked around and realized he was in the student council room, alone with Rivalz. He glanced down and came to realize there wasn't a single vertical statement, instead, written diagonally across the sheet. Lelouch was both surprised and relieved it was just a normal paper, not some important document.

Rivalz shook his head. "Geez, what happened to you? You've been like a zombie since the inauguration ceremony this morning!"

Lelouch didn't reply.

He gathered the papers and tidied them up in silence. He vaguely remembered how he got into the council, but still remembered clearly that he had agreed to join as a member of student council along with Rivalz, although not yet officially. And he was doing the application form—which clearly he hadn't yet written a single sentence of it.

Rivalz stared at his friend oddly, but decided Lelouch might be just nervous about the whole big news, like the others. "It's shocking huh, having a royalty in our school. The girls look all dreamy though. But man—why does a prince want to enter _this_ school?" He wondered loudly, crossing his arms on his back.

The quieter of the two flinched.

"I mean, Ashford is great and all, but don't they have a line of world-class schools in Europe? Oh yeah, he said something about 'learning about the social life of citizens and citizenship' didn't he?" Rivalz continued his chatter. "Ah, but…"

"Isn't he your _roommate_, Lulu? You must've felt the most awkward, huh?"

The raven-haired boy halted suddenly.

Unknowing of Lelouch's reactions, Rivalz's cell rang and he picked the call almost immediately. "Hello? Oh, President!"

Lelouch resumed silently tidying the desk, putting the papers safely into the clear folder. His thoughts, however, weren't focused and kept straying about. He wouldn't have minded this if only his head wasn't centered on one person.

Only a day had passed yet it felt like a long dream, a nightmare of someone who was supposed to live peacefully in the Britannia motherland, now came back to this cursed country where those nightmares were born. And appeared in front of Lelouch once again.

"Sorry Lulu, the Pres needs my help! I'll be back soon." Rivalz announced. Lelouch replied with a nod.

Rivalz quickly rushed towards the door and went out, leaving the raven-haired boy alone in the council room. While Lelouch tried to focus his straying thoughts back to work, he was unaware the door was soundlessly being flung open and another person stepped into the room, observing him wordlessly.

That person took slow steps, as she approached the serious student. Every step she took seemed like a breeze; soundless and light. She didn't even bother to call his name when she suddenly spoke out.

"You look riddled." She languidly said.

Her words took Lelouch by surprise; he sharply turned towards her and relaxed all of a sudden when as soon as he saw her. "It's just you." He sighed and closed his eyes tiredly. "You startled me. Can't you at least use the door when you get in, C.C.?"

"I did. Though, I didn't knock." The emerald-haired girl casually said. Before Lelouch could say anything, she added. "I wear the uniform you gave me, no one suspected I'm not a student, so don't give me that look."

Lelouch didn't know how to say to prevent this woman from straying off wherever she wanted to; or he might as well just give it up. "I'll let it slide this time. But don't go around without telling me next time."

"That's what I was wondering about." C.C. plunged herself into the sofa. "Where am I supposed to hide if your lover has taken half of the room?"

His face suddenly turned as if he had been choked while drinking. "He's _not_ my lover! He's just a… a roommate!" Lelouch fervently exclaimed.

"Lover or not, it makes no difference to me. You don't look happy at all, I see." She stared up to Lelouch's expression.

A grim frown appeared on Lelouch's lips. "How can I?" He retorted while avoiding C.C.'s observing gaze. "He's not supposed to be here! I thought—I thought I've made sure he wouldn't come back anymore… I thought _you_ had seen to it that he wouldn't!" He sharply threw a glare towards the composed girl.

"…don't be so angry." She calmly stated. "Haven't I told you that it would only be temporary? That man's birthplace was here, his blood and instinct longed to return to its rightful home, it's no wonder he'd return to this land someday, your childhood friend. It's only a matter of time."

Lelouch couldn't reply.

"The spell hasn't been broken yet, has it? I can tell whether the seal has been undone." She asked.

Lelouch shook his head. "No. He doesn't remember me… at all." C.C. caught a glimpse of a tightly balled fist.

"…then, what is it you're worrying about? It matters not whether he's here or abroad, his memory won't return and no one would suspect a thing about his identity." She rested her back against the cushion comfortably.

"I know." Lelouch murmured. "But…"

C.C. watched Lelouch's expression. She crossed her arms as she spoke with a deep tone. "Lelouch. Seven years ago, your wish was granted and that resulted to the life you've lived to this day. Are you having regrets now?"

Lelouch's amethyst eyes widened and he retorted. "No! Of course not… I've never regretted the decision I made. Never." A shadow covered his face.

C.C. blinked and sighed, bringing a fist to her chin. "It's good that you didn't. You can get nothing from regretting the past, after all." Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she stared down at the floor.

"…anyway, look for a new place for me to use since your room is unavailable now. I'll try not to get unnecessary attention until then." She stated as she stood. Lelouch watched as C.C. leisurely strode towards the door in light steps, turning her head halfway around by the entrance.

"Lelouch, need I remind you that the geass's effect will start decreasing soon?" At her last words, Lelouch's purplish eyes widened and he suddenly stood up, causing the chair to fall down behind him.

C.C. wasn't fazed at all despite his reaction, she added. "If you want to strengthen the seal, you know the terms and conditions. And Lelouch…"

C.C.'s golden brown eyes shone as she stared straight to Lelouch's violet orbs. "Don't lie to yourself." And then she left.

Seconds after she left, Rivalz entered. He stared at the entrance as he did, looking astonished and curious. "Wow… I've never seen a cute girl like that before, wonder if she's a transfer student?" He mumbled softly and then turned to face the other boy. "...huh? What's wrong, Lulu? You're as white as a sheet!"

Lelouch was still standing on his toes, both palms spread and pushed against the wooden surface of the desk. He had a look of someone who had just seen a ghost. "Nothing." He uttered, balling his fists. He tried to relax his nerves. "I haven't had enough sleep, that's all." He gave Rivalz a forced smile.

Rivalz looked unconvinced, but he decided not to push it. "Really? Ok then… by the way, she needs us to return some accounting files back to the library. Are you coming? Um, but don't push yourself too hard okay?"

"It's okay. I'm fine. I'll help you." Lelouch assured.

Lelouch finished tidying the desk in silent, his mind filled with thoughts.

Lelouch left the student council room alone, hugging a heap of books to his chest. Rivalz had an urgent appointment and had apologetically asked Lelouch to replace his part of the job, which the raven-haired boy agreed to do. There were ten books in his arms, which he had to carry carefully and they were quite heavy.

The library was located at the farthest west of the academy, at the Junior high school division's building, which was quite far away from the student council room. He had to cross the school grounds to get there. It was pretty much a pain because there hadn't yet a library in high school division's building.

The classrooms were almost emptied in the first day of school, since the only schedules were the opening ceremony and classroom announcement in the morning, the real classes would start tomorrow. The rest of the students were likely had gone home, though some still lingered around the school area.

Lelouch was crossing the outer corridor when he saw some students were walking from the opposite direction. He recognized them as seniors, and Japanese on top. Lelouch frowned and tried to remain quiet. As their distance became closer, the one in the front, who seemed like their leader, noticed him.

As Lelouch had expected, he purposely bumped onto Lelouch's shoulder, with a degree of strength that made him dropped the books.

"Oops, sorry, sorry." The nasty fellow said, his voice didn't sound at all apologetic. "Guess I can't see ya there, Mr. Honor Student."

Lelouch didn't answer such obvious attempt of provocation. He sighed softly and crouched to pick up the fallen books, ignoring the other students' mockery. But unfortunately, it only roused their anger.

The leader of that gang especially, his black eyes shone angrily as he glared at Lelouch's back. "Tch. Guess nothin' fazes ya huh, traitor!?" He spat at one of the books Lelouch was holding.

Lelouch turned to him, frowning. But said nothing.

"What's with those eyes? You wanna act a saint? Huh!?" The senior went to grab at Lelouch's collar, forcing him to stand up. Lelouch suddenly found himself breathless, for the strong grip was purposely meant to choke him. Yet he kept a strong front although pain showed on his expression.

The senior looked amused. "Can't do nothin' Mr. Goody-two-shoes? Tired of kissin' those Britannians' asses, huh? Hmph. Even yer strength is as girly as you look." He and his gang laughed aloud as he stared at Lelouch's pained face, and suddenly he had a look on his face that made a chill ran down Lelouch's spines.

"Say, ya…" He brought his face closer; a hand went to Lelouch's face and trailed his fingers along his face. "Yer face's _really_ pretty… like a girl." An odd smile graced his eerie face.

Before he could do more, a shout reached Lelouch's ears.

"Hey!! What are you doing!? Let go of him!!"

"Shit!" The senior quickly released his grip and ran away with his friends. Lelouch slumped to his knees and gasped, coughing violently.

"Damn! They got away—hey! Are you alright?" He felt someone caught a hold of his shoulders and shook him. Lelouch was still gasping for air, he looked up and saw a blurred image of someone's childlike face, so familiar that he subconsciously called out,

"Su… zaku?"

The person's voice sounded surprised. "…!! Lelouch!? Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

The face in front of his eyes gradually became clear. The face was more mature, but nevertheless still had hints of childishness. And he was really, Suzaku. When Lelouch realized this, he instinctively jolted up in surprise.

"Thank goodness, looks like you're alright. I thought they did something to you, Lelouch." Suzaku looked relieved, giving him a wide smile.

Lelouch only stared at him.

"…oh! Sorry I called you so familiarly… you just called my given name so…" His face flushed in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head.

For a moment there, Lelouch was taken by surprise, he quickly looked away. "No… it's okay. I'm fine." He said.

"I'm glad. Oh—your books…" He bended his back and started helping Lelouch picking the fallen books, but after they had picked them all, he didn't return the books he picked. When Lelouch raised a brow in question, he quickly answered.

"Let me help you. There were a bunch of people—reporters—keep following me everywhere asking for interviews, if I tell them I'm helping a friend it'll stop them for a while, so… please?"

Suzaku's earnest request and the look he gave Lelouch, made him feel—though he didn't know why—guilty. It was just like the look Suzaku used to give him whenever his egoistical whims kicked in, since they were children—the puppy dog eyes.

"F-fine." Lelouch finally said, feeling defeated.

"Great!" Suzaku exclaimed with a bright grin, hugging the six books to his chest.

Lelouch felt strange.

Before they began, Suzaku turned to Lelouch. "Um, by the way… can I call you Lelouch? It's easier and—I kind of want you to call me by my first name too. Like before."

Lelouch's purplish eyes widened slightly. Suzaku looked a bit nervous under his gaze.

_Like before._

Unexpectedly, a thin smile raised on Lelouch's thin lips. A beautiful, sincere smile. "Of course, Suzaku." He uttered brightly.

Suzaku was astonished.

"Shall we?" Lelouch took the first step, turning towards the other.

"R-right."

The smile was still there.

_"Lelouch"_

Just like before.


End file.
